


Reasons

by Winters_solstice



Series: Of Mechanical and Flesh Hearts [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Happy Ending, Hospital, Is It Angst?, Or Is It?, Worry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-23
Updated: 2017-05-23
Packaged: 2018-11-03 21:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10975980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winters_solstice/pseuds/Winters_solstice
Summary: There are reasons for everything we do. But what are the reasons why a certain Hunter Vanguard won't leave the bedside of an injured woman?





	Reasons

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally an 1am, exhaustion fueled fic. Tempted to expand on this into a full fic, just let me know if you'd be interested. I literally just got into playing Destiny. How can you not love the charming roguish Exo.

There were several reasons why he was sat by her bedside. Well more like asleep, well as close to 'asleep' as an Exo can get, but nevertheless he was sat at her bedside. Some reasons resided higher than others. Being cut off by the bar in the Hangar was pretty low down on that list, so was not being able to go to his favourite ramen shop because it was closed. Further up on that list was the fact that the human woman laid in the infirmary bed in front of him was injured, that she still hadn't woke up despite being brought in a week ago.  
  
There were times when his favourite Guardians of his class were out of action that he'd pop by to give an encouraging, sometimes cheeky comment and a thumbs up. This woman however was no Guardian, she was his ward, a task put in place by Zavala to try and curb the Exo's complaints of boredom and mischief in the tower. They weren't Zavala's only reasons. Nevertheless the Exo had grown quite fond of the human woman, he didn't have many who he could call a friend, but after the time spent with her (mainly not his choice) he considered her a friend.  
  
Being his ward was particularly high up on the list of reasons he was where he was. However the one that resided the highest in his circuitry was the fact she had been deceived. Although meant innocently, she had been sent on an op. An op that she had been told was cleared by all the Vanguards. An op that had gone south, and fast, and which resulted in the end of two Guardians, with several injured. He'd read the report. It was meant to be a standard op, something simple that even Kinderguardians could handle. No one was expecting the ambush they'd been suprised with. Fallen from a range of the heirarchy had surrounded them. The rest was history. The woman in front of him, the woman who trusted him with her life, who'd shared many nights drinking and laughing with him, who he revealed some of his darkest secrets to, had been close to death when backup finally arrived.  
  
He feared that she might never know that he was against her going on an op so soon. That he had never cleared her for going on that op. That she might die thinking he'd let her go to her death. Zavala had been too keen to see what she could do, to see if she was as great an asset as the Fallen who originally had her thought. The report of the incident revealed that she was, more than they ever imagined. But still here she was, unconscious in a hospital bed, somewhere between life and death. The times he'd spent the past week visiting her were spent talking to her, telling her jokes and funny stories, hoping that he'd get a response. She just laid as still as a rock, and just as cold.  
  
Ikora had been somewhere between surprised and not when she had walked into the room to find the woman with a comically thick blanket on top of her. She'd raised a brow at the Exo. He claimed the woman got cold easily and that it'd help keep her warm. Ikora thought it would cook the poor woman but said nothing of it. He'd bring in two bowls of his favourite ramen, and to talk to her as if she were awake. That usually ended with the Exo being uncharacteristically quiet for hours on end, which led to the worry of the other Vanguards and Guardians alike. More than once Amanda in the middle of the night had to pull her friend away to get him back to his quarters so he could have some semblance of rest but she'd stopped after finding out he'd sneak back anyway.  
  
Eventually after a few hours the Exo shifted in his 'sleep'. His head rested on the edge of the bed, just below where the woman's hand lay. The Exo's Ghost hovered curiously over the woman's body. Tilting this way and that, watching her patiently. A small sigh and a slight shift of the head caught the Ghost's attention. The woman groaned quietly, her voice hoarse from her both over use then complete lack of it. She stretched slowly, letting out a sound of discomfort. Her fingers of her right hand brushed against something hard and she glanced down. Before she could make out what she had touched, a familiar Ghost floated in front of her face, gushing about how glad it was to see her alive and not dead. The woman placed her finger to her mouth to hush the Ghost.  
"Its good to see you too." She croaked.  
"You sound as bad as you look!" The Ghost exclaimed.  
"Thanks." The woman huffed laugh before grimacing in pain.  
  
The Ghost floated toward the Exo, looked at him then to the woman. She gently reached out and brushed her fingertips across the Exo's faceplates. She smiled fondly then poked where a human cheek bone would be.  
"Hey!" She called, her voice still quiet. The Exo groaned and swatted her hand away.  
"Seriously?" She smiled.  
"Five more minutes." The Exo's voice replied.  
"Come on bonehead. Wakey wakey."  
The Exo then muttered some reply to being metalhead rather than bonehead.  
"Cayde. The spicy ramen shop is burning down." The woman sing-songed. She couldn't think of any other time where her favourite Exo snapped out of sleep so fast, except maybe the time when she told him the ramen shop had cooked too much and was giving out free bowls.  
  
It took him a second to orientate himself, and a second longer to pull the woman into a bone crushing hug.  
"And its good to see you too Cayde," she patted his back as she spoke "But I think I've got enough broken bones. And being able to breathe would be nice."  
The Exo let go of the woman and jumped up onto her bed, forcing her to shuffle over so he could sit beside her.  
"How long?" She asked.  
"A week." The Exo replied nonchalantly.  
"Shit. Guess you must have been worried." She glanced over to him, sadness in her eyes.  
"What? No. Nope. No siree. Absolutely calm as a pond. Knew you'd pull through."  
"I think he short-circuited more than once." The Exo's Ghost spoke.  
"Traitor!" The Exo grumbled.  
"That bad huh?" The woman reached for the Exo's hand, entwinning her fingers with his and pulling it onto her lap.  
"Touch and go. But knew you'd pull through. You're a tough cookie!" Cayde spoke proudly.  
"Speaking of food. I'm starving." The woman complained.  
  
"The ramen shop should be open by now." The Exo's Ghost claimed. The woman quickly pushed her friend from the bed, laughing when he fell to the floor with a thump.  
"Go, go, go! Cayde! Run!" The woman exclaimed.  
"I'm going!" The Exo and his Ghost quickly left the room. The woman sighed happily, she laid her head back and closed her eyes.  
"Hey no falling asleep!" The Exo's voice called. The woman looked to see Cayde with his head poking around the door. He pointed a finger at her in a warning manner and disappeared.  
  
Not long after, the Exo returned with two bowls of their favourite ramen. Of course it was Cayde's favourite before hers, he'd introduced her to it one evening after a particular rough day in hopes of at least cheering her up.  
"Chopsticks or fork?" Cayde asked.  
"I'd love to say chopsticks but I'm going to have to go with fork." She replied.  
"Whimp!" Cayde teased.  
"Dude, been unconscious for a week. Hands are not chopstick ready yet." She defended.  
"Touché."  
The two sat and ate, and talked and laughed.  
  
"So... erm wanted to get it out in the open that I didn't clear you for the op." Cayde eventually said.  
"I figured." The woman replied. Cayde gazed at her, urging her to continue.  
"If you were to clear me for an op. You would talk my ear off about being badass and showing them what I've got. You'd constantly be on comms. Plus you'd make be wear hunter armour."  
"True. True. And true. Wait... you didn't wear hunter armour? I'm hurt! I thought we were friends!" Cayde placed a hand over his chest where his heart would be.  
"I did request it." She replied.  
"That's my girl!" Cayde spoke proudly.  
"And we are the best of friends Cayde."  
"You got that right!" He gave the equivalent of a smile.  
  
A few hours later, the two remaining Vanguards entered the hospital room in search of their missing hunter Vanguard.  
"'Friends'. Huh?" The Exo's Ghost greeted the Vanguards then looked across the room. The titan and the warlock gave a small smile.  
"'The best of friends'" Ikora replied. The two Vanguards then left. The Ghost hovered toward the entwined bodies of the Exo hunter and his human ward. His arms wrapped protectively around her, as her head rested on his chest. Both very sound asleep.


End file.
